


Wedding on Eldridge Street

by eliask



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Food, Jewish, Jewish Holidays, Light Romance, Sisters, ashkenormativity, b"h, holiday fluff, i am now a magical shadchan, in my defense most 1920s lower east side jews were ashkenazim, in the magical and real-world sense, tight-knit insular communities, very light angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 17:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8675956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliask/pseuds/eliask
Summary: Jacob Kowalski agrees to make the wedding cake for a loyal customer's sister's wedding taking place on the eighth night of Chanukah. It should be a simple project, but somehow, trouble always finds him. A kitschy, sweet holiday tale.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Watching three Jewish main characters in a Harry Potter film was deeply exciting for me on many levels, but I wanted just a tad more Jewy-ness. And that's why there's fanfiction.
> 
> Glossary at the end :)
> 
> Oh: Ponchiks = sufganiyot = jelly donuts. You're welcome.

_December 1927, New York City’s Lower East Side, Kowalski’s Quality Baked Goods_

Jacob Kowalski bent his knees, furrowing his brow as he worked, all the better to beat his new batch of sweet _ponchik_ dough. Outside, snow fell slowly and dreamily, like powdered sugar sifting down from a sieve. It was the beginning of December, and the whole city, from the streets to the shops to the grand Penn Station, was all topped with new snow like a coat of fresh white icing. In a week, the horse-drawn carriages and brand new Model Ford trucks would make the snow would turn black and turn to sludge, but for now it was still pristine and pearly.

It was warm in the shop, the fire in the back burning strong and bright like the upcoming Chanukah lights. Chanukah was Jacob’s favorite holiday - so much food, so many pastries! - and now that he had a bakery to run, he had to work overtime in preparation for the holiday.

Sure, there were the _hamantaschen_ for Purim - in varieties of _lekvar_ , poppy, honey, jam and now, chocolate - and the endless Shavuos cheesecakes, but nothing topped Chanukah baking. Chanukah was famous for the Jews’ outstanding military victory, and for their rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after it was ransacked by the Romans, but somehow, in between the story of how the Temple’s menorah had used just one small jug of oil to miraculously stay lit for eight whole days, fried, sweet food had become a traditional treat. And since this was the bakery’s first Chanukah, Jacob was pulling all-stops. There would be _ponchiks_ in every variety and in every shape, the weird, wonderful animals he dreamed up included. He’d make _latkes_ \- piles and piles of _latkes_. He’d make apple cakes and _babkas_ and black-and-white cookies and _rugelach_ and candy, who didn’t like candy?

Smiling at the thought, Jacob dusted cocoa powder into his sweet pastry dough and stirred. Chocolate _ponchiks_. Who had ever imagined chocolate _ponchiks_? Jacob’s own _bubbe_ had never made such a delicacy. And he’d make them in the shape of these funny rhinoceros he’d once dreamed of. Yes, if nothing could make a person smile, then this would - a chocolate _ponchik_ in the shape of a magical rhino. He chuckled at the thought, and glowed inside at the joy he knew he’d bring anyone who saw it, or better, ate it.

_Tap tap tap._

Jacob set down his bowl and looked up. Had he heard someone at the door or was it just his imagination?

_Tap tap tap._

He pulled off his gloves, leaving them by the counter and the bowl. Feeling uneasy, he slowly made his way from the kitchen to the the dark front room.

_Tap tap tap._

Even through his winter clothes, and the frosted glass pane, Jacob recognized who it was at once. He opened the door and pulled the boy into the warm room. He shut the door behind him; it jingled. 

“David Rosenthal,” he said, placing both hands on the boy’s chilled shoulders. “I promise that your _mandelbrot_ haven't yet come out of the oven.” In fact, it was 3 AM. Bright and early for a baker, but too soon for customers.

David shivered, even bundled up as he was in scarves and mittens, a huge winter jacket, and a warm hat. Everyone knew David. He was slight and fair, the youngest son of Rabbi Chaim Rosenthal of the Eldrige Street Synagogue. Eldridge Street Synagogue was one of the largest shuls on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and it was just a short walk from Jacob’s bakery. As the Lower East Side’s up-and-coming baker, Jacob had quickly gotten to know all the main community players, including Rabbi Rosenthal and his family.

David pulled the scarf from his mouth and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kowalski, but it’s urgent. You see,” he said, “my sister’s getting married.”

At that Jacob had to sit down. No wonder David had come in such a rush. “Pull up a chair, David. You’re telling me that _Sadie’s_ getting married?" 

David was pulling off his mittens and hat, revealing the black suede kippa underneath. He ran a hand through his curly, pale hair. “Sadie? Sadie’s barely past _bat mitzvah_. No, it's my older sister, Ida. You know - Chana Leah.”

“Oh, Chana.” Now this made much more sense. The last Jacob had heard, Chana had been studying at Barnard College. “How did I not hear about this?” The boy shrugged, and Jacob decided he just must have been out of the loop. “Well, _mazal tov_ , David! Who’s the lucky guy?”

David’s hazel eyes crinkled. “It’s Samuel Faber, you know, Moshe Faber's son.”

Jacob did know. Moshe was the owner of the _sefarim_ store down the block. Back in Lublin, he had been an orthopedist. How had he not heard the news? “Sam was at Hunter, wasn’t he? Studying math?”

“Yes, he graduated last spring. Now he’s going for _smicha_.”

“Two rabbis in the family!” On instinct, Jacob got up and pulled out a bottle of red wine from a shelf. He uncorked it, produced two glasses, and offered one to David. “ _L’chaim._ ” They drank. As the community baker, he’d quickly learned he had to have a bottle of wine on hand for any eventuality, for news both good and bad, a _mazel tov_ or a _baruch dayan haemet_. He was a baker; he knew better than anyone else that more than a counselor or a rebbe, sometimes, people just wanted a slice of strudel, or a glass of good wine.

David was mid-way through the glass of wine when he set it back again on the table. “The only problem is, Jacob,” he said, his voice slightly hushed. “they’re getting married in two weeks.”

Jacob set his own drained glass down, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He was feeling as warm and as comfortable as though he'd just slipped into a hot bath. "What's the problem? Sounds like a _simcha_.”

David scratched his arm uncomfortably. “Well, you see,” he said. “They forgot to order a wedding cake.”

Jacob nodded slowly, but his thoughts spun faster than egg whites whisking into meringue. “So. Are you asking me to bake a cake for your sister’s wedding day?” The boy nodded tentatively. "For how many people?"

"Five hundred. All of my family, plus all of Sam's, and everyone from the community that can come."

Jacob’s face split into a wide grin. “It would be an honor,” he said simply.

“Well, it’s not just that,” the boy continued. “Chana Leah and Sam are getting married on the last night of Chanukah, and they don’t want an ordinary wedding cake. They want a cake made entirely from _ponchiks._ ”

Why did the boy ask him that in the same tone one might ask for _Shabbos_ meal plans 5 PM on a Friday afternoon? Jacob had meant it when he said he was honored. “David, how long have we known each other? We’re neighbors. Two weeks is no problem! If you had asked me the night before, we could have worked this out, too. Any particular flavor she likes?”

The boy pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket and read it over. His eyes narrowed as he considered. “Dad wrote in Yiddish. Raspberry jam, I think.”

Jacob clapped David on the shoulder. “Anything else?”

“That’s all. _Nu,_ thanks.”

After offering him a hot pastry, Jacob walked David out the door. He returned to the kitchen, now in a state of bliss. A wedding cake made from a tower of raspberry jelly donuts, fit to serve each distinguished member of the Faber and Rosenthal families, and all the congregants of Eldridge Street Synagogue, too. It would be topped with powdered sugar, white as snow, and so very wedding-like. And the fact that after less than a year of business that Rabbi Rosenthal would ask him, Jacob, to prepare the dessert for his own daughter’s wedding...well, it was very exciting indeed. He would make the best wedding _ponchik_ cake there had ever been. It would be an occasion for _simcha_ like no other.

What he didn’t know was that he and David hadn’t been quite alone during the conversation. In fact, there was another who had overheard everything. And that person wasn’t quite as pleased as Jacob Kowalski that he had been appointed the baker for Ida Chana Leah Rosenthal’s wedding.

**Author's Note:**

> Eldridge Street Synagogue is very real! From the 1880s-1920s, it was one of the largest Lower East Side shuls. In 2007, the project to restore Eldridge Street Synagogue was completed, and it now stands as a totally gorgeous museum.
> 
> If I am screwing anything up historically, especially linguistically, and you notice it, lmk! In that vein, I love constructive criticism, so please give it to me. 
> 
> Glossary:
> 
>  _Ponchiks:_ JELLY DOUGHNUTS!!! AKA: Sufganiyot. These are traditionally eaten on Chanukah. As mentioned in the fic, during Chanukah, people will often eat fried foods, and jelly doughnuts fit the bill with deliciousness. Here is a visual: http://www.halfhourmeals.com/image/recipe/sufganiyot-tower_large.jpg  
>  _Hamantaschen:_ These are three-cornered cookies often filled with jam or prune or poppy and are traditionally eaten on Purim.  
>  _Lekvar:_ Prune filling.  
>  _Latkes:_ Fried potato pancakes, traditionally eaten on Chanukah  
>  _Bubbe:_ Grandmother  
>  _Bat mitzvah:_ The age of 12, at which age a Jewish girl is seen as an adult through the lens of Jewish law  
>  _Mazel tov!_ Literally: good stars. It means: congratulations!  
>  _Baruch dayan haemet:_ Traditionally said after hearing very bad news, for example, a death.  
>  _Smicha:_ Ordination to become a rabbi  
>  _L'chaim:_ Literally: to life. It means basically the same thing as, "Let's drink to that."  
>  _Simcha:_ Celebration  
>  _Shabbos_ or _Shabbat_ : Weekly Jewish holiday which comes in every Friday night at sundown, and ends every Saturday night an hour after sunset  
>  _Nu:_ Yiddish. It translates to something like yes, so, or well.  
>  _Sefarim:_ Literally books, in this context refers to religious Jewish books and texts.  
>  _Babka:_ Delicious pastry, especially if it's chocolate. http://static.wixstatic.com/media/e5e4a4_878d98b2237147618f994e77c8c667db.jpg  
>  _Rugelach:_ Another delicious pastry, wrapped in the shape of a very small croissant, and it's best in chocolate.  
>  _Mandelbrot:_ Biscotti. Again, best in chocolate. With nuts. Yummm.


End file.
